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Note: Material for this PDF are taken from Internet and books and only being used for student reference
Top 100 Networking Oral Questions & Answers (PR)

1) What is a Link?

A link refers to the connectivity between two devices. It includes the type of cables and
protocols used in order for one device to be able to communicate with the other.

2) What are the layers of the OSI reference model?

There are 7 OSI layers: Physical Layer, Data Link Layer, Network Layer, Transport Layer,
Session Layer, Presentation Layer and Application Layer.

3) What is backbone network?

A backbone network is a centralized infrastructure that is designed to distribute different routes

and data to various networks. It also handles management of bandwidth and various channels.

4) What is a LAN?

LAN is short for Local Area Network. It refers to the connection between computers and other
network devices that are located within a small physical location.

5) What is a node?
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A node refers to a point or joint where a connection takes place. It can be computer or device
that is part of a network. Two or more nodes are needed in order to form a network connection.

6) What are routers?

Routers can connect two or more network segments. These are intelligent network devices that
store information in its routing table such as paths, hops and bottlenecks. With this info, they are
able to determine the best path for data transfer. Routers operate at the OSI Network Layer.

7) What is point to point link?

It refers to a direct connection between two computers on a network. A point to point connection
does not need any other network devices other than connecting a cable to the NIC cards of both
computers.

8) What is anonymous FTP?

Anonymous FTP is a way of granting user access to files in public servers. Users that are
allowed access to data in these servers do not need to identify themselves, but instead log in as
an anonymous guest.

9) What is subnet mask?

A subnet mask is combined with an IP address in order to identify two parts: the extended
network address and the host address. Like an IP address, a subnet mask is made up of 32
bits.

10) What is the maximum length allowed for a UTP cable?

A single segment of UTP cable has an allowable length of 90 to 100 meters. This limitation can
be overcome by using repeaters and switches.

11) What is data encapsulation?

Data encapsulation is the process of breaking down information into smaller manageable
chunks before it is transmitted across the network. It is also in this process that the source and
destination addresses are attached into the headers, along with parity checks.

12) Describe Network Topology

Network Topology refers to the layout of a computer network. It shows how devices and cables
are physically laid out, as well as how they connect to one another.

13) What is VPN?

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VPN means Virtual Private Network, a technology that allows a secure tunnel to be created
across a network such as the Internet. For example, VPNs allow you to establish a secure dial-
up connection to a remote server.

14) Briefly describe NAT.

NAT is Network Address Translation. This is a protocol that provides a way for multiple
computers on a common network to share single connection to the Internet.

15) What is the job of the Network Layer under the OSI reference model?

The Network layer is responsible for data routing, packet switching and control of network
congestion. Routers operate under this layer.

16) How does a network topology affect your decision in setting up a network?

Network topology dictates what media you must use to interconnect devices. It also serves as
basis on what materials, connector and terminations that is applicable for the setup.

17) What is RIP?

RIP, short for Routing Information Protocol is used by routers to send data from one network to
another. It efficiently manages routing data by broadcasting its routing table to all other routers
within the network. It determines the network distance in units of hops.

18) What are different ways of securing a computer network?

There are several ways to do this. Install reliable and updated anti-virus program on all
computers. Make sure firewalls are setup and configured properly. User authentication will also
help a lot. All of these combined would make a highly secured network.

19) What is NIC?

NIC is short for Network Interface Card. This is a peripheral card that is attached to a PC in
order to connect to a network. Every NIC has its own MAC address that identifies the PC on the
network.

20) What is WAN?

WAN stands for Wide Area Network. It is an interconnection of computers and devices that are
geographically dispersed. It connects networks that are located in different regions and
countries.

21) What is the importance of the OSI Physical Layer?

The physical layer does the conversion from data bits to electrical signal, and vice versa. This is
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where network devices and cable types are considered and setup.

22) How many layers are there under TCP/IP?

There are four layers: the Network Layer, Internet Layer, Transport Layer and Application Layer.

23) What are proxy servers and how do they protect computer networks?

Proxy servers primarily prevent external users who identifying the IP addresses of an internal
network. Without knowledge of the correct IP address, even the physical location of the network
cannot be identified. Proxy servers can make a network virtually invisible to external users.

24) What is the function of the OSI Session Layer?

This layer provides the protocols and means for two devices on the network to communicate
with each other by holding a session. This includes setting up the session, managing
information exchange during the session, and tear-down process upon termination of the
session.

25) What is the importance of implementing a Fault Tolerance System? Are there
limitations?

A fault tolerance system ensures continuous data availability. This is done by eliminating a
single point of failure. However, this type of system would not be able to protect data in some
cases, such as in accidental deletions.

26) What does 10Base-T mean?

The 10 refers to the data transfer rate, in this case is 10Mbps. The word Base refers to base
band, as oppose to broad band. T means twisted pair, which is the cable used for that network.

27) What is a private IP address?

Private IP addresses are assigned for use on intranets. These addresses are used for internal
networks and are not routable on external public networks. These ensures that no conflicts are
present among internal networks while at the same time the same range of private IP addresses
are reusable for multiple intranets since they do not "see" each other.

28) What is NOS?

NOS, or Network Operating System, is specialized software whose main task is to provide
network connectivity to a computer in order for it to be able to communicate with other
computers and connected devices.

29) What is DoS?

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DoS, or Denial-of-Service attack, is an attempt to prevent users from being able to access the
internet or any other network services. Such attacks may come in different forms and are done
by a group of perpetuators. One common method of doing this is to overload the system server
so it cannot anymore process legitimate traffic and will be forced to reset.

30) What is OSI and what role does it play in computer networks?

OSI (Open Systems Interconnect) serves as a reference model for data communication. It is
made up of 7 layers, with each layer defining a particular aspect on how network devices
connect and communicate with one another. One layer may deal with the physical media used,
while another layer dictates how data is actually transmitted across the network.

31) What is the purpose of cables being shielded and having twisted pairs?

The main purpose of this is to prevent crosstalk. Crosstalks are electromagnetic interferences or
noise that can affect data being transmitted across cables.

32) What is the advantage of address sharing?

By using address translation instead of routing, address sharing provides an inherent security
benefit. That's because host PCs on the Internet can only see the public IP address of the
external interface on the computer that provides address translation and not the private IP
addresses on the internal network.

33) What are MAC addresses?

MAC, or Media Access Control, uniquely identifies a device on the network. It is also known as
physical address or Ethernet address. A MAC address is made up of 6-byte parts.

34) What is the equivalent layer or layers of the TCP/IP Application layer in terms of OSI
reference model?

The TCP/IP Application layer actually has three counterparts on the OSI model: the Session
layer, Presentation Layer and Application Layer.

35) How can you identify the IP class of a given IP address?

By looking at the first octet of any given IP address, you can identify whether it's Class A, B or
C. If the first octet begins with a 0 bit, that address is Class A. If it begins with bits 10 then that
address is a Class B address. If it begins with 110, then it's a Class C network.

36) What is the main purpose of OSPF?

OSPF, or Open Shortest Path First, is a link-state routing protocol that uses routing tables to
determine the best possible path for data exchange.
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37) What are firewalls?

Firewalls serve to protect an internal network from external attacks. These external threats can
be hackers who want to steal data or computer viruses that can wipe out data in an instant. It
also prevents other users from external networks from gaining access to the private network.

38) Describe star topology

Star topology consists of a central hub that connects to nodes. This is one of the easiest to
setup and maintain.

39) What are gateways?

Gateways provide connectivity between two or more network segments. It is usually a computer
that runs the gateway software and provides translation services. This translation is a key in
allowing different systems to communicate on the network.

40) What is the disadvantage of a star topology?

One major disadvantage of star topology is that once the central hub or switch get damaged,
the entire network becomes unusable.

41) What is SLIP?

SLIP, or Serial Line Interface Protocol, is actually an old protocol developed during the early
UNIX days. This is one of the protocols that are used for remote access.

42) Give some examples of private network addresses.

10.0.0.0 with a subnet mask of 255.0.0.0

172.16.0.0 with subnet mask of 255.240.0.0
192.168.0.0 with subnet mask of 255.255.0.0

43) What is tracert?

Tracert is a Windows utility program that can used to trace the route taken by data from the
router to the destination network. It also shows the number of hops taken during the entire
transmission route.

44) What are the functions of a network administrator?

A network administrator has many responsibilities that can be summarize into 3 key functions:
installation of a network, configuration of network settings, and maintenance/troubleshooting of
networks.

45) Describe at one disadvantage of a peer to peer network.

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When you are accessing the resources that are shared by one of the workstations on the
network, that workstation takes a performance hit.

46) What is Hybrid Network?

A hybrid network is a network setup that makes use of both client-server and peer-to-peer
architecture.

47) What is DHCP?

DHCP is short for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. Its main task is to automatically assign
an IP address to devices across the network. It first checks for the next available address not
yet taken by any device, then assigns this to a network device.

48) What is the main job of the ARP?

The main task of ARP or Address Resolution Protocol is to map a known IP address to a MAC
layer address.

49) What is TCP/IP?

TCP/IP is short for Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol. This is a set of protocol
layers that is designed to make data exchange possible on different types of computer
networks, also known as heterogeneous network.

50) How can you manage a network using a router?

Routers have built in console that lets you configure different settings, like security and data
logging. You can assign restrictions to computers, such as what resources it is allowed access,
or what particular time of the day they can browse the internet. You can even put restrictions on
what websites are not viewable across the entire network.

51) What protocol can be applied when you want to transfer files between different
platforms, such between UNIX systems and Windows servers?

Use FTP (File Transfer Protocol) for file transfers between such different servers. This is
possible because FTP is platform independent.

52) What is the use of a default gateway?

Default gateways provide means for the local networks to connect to the external network. The
default gateway for connecting to the external network is usually the address of the external
router port.

53) One way of securing a network is through the use of passwords. What can be
considered as good passwords?
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Good passwords are made up of not just letters, but by combining letters and numbers. A
password that combines uppercase and lowercase letters is favorable than one that uses all
upper case or all lower case letters. Passwords must be not words that can easily be guessed
by hackers, such as dates, names, favorites, etc. Longer passwords are also better than short
ones.

54) What is the proper termination rate for UTP cables?

The proper termination for unshielded twisted pair network cable is 100 ohms.

55) What is netstat?

Netstat is a command line utility program. It provides useful information about the current
TCP/IP settings of a connection.

56) What is the number of network IDs in a Class C network?

For a Class C network, the number of usable Network ID bits is 21. The number of possible
network IDs is 2 raised to 21 or 2,097,152. The number of host IDs per network ID is 2 raised to
8 minus 2, or 254.

57) What happens when you use cables longer than the prescribed length?

Cables that are too long would result in signal loss. This means that data transmission and
reception would be affected, because the signal degrades over length.

58) What common software problems can lead to network defects?

Software related problems can be any or a combination of the following:

- client server problems
- application conflicts
- error in configuration
- protocol mismatch
- security issues
- user policy and rights issues

59) What is ICMP?

ICMP is Internet Control Message Protocol. It provides messaging and communication for
protocols within the TCP/IP stack. This is also the protocol that manages error messages that
are used by network tools such as PING.

60) What is Ping?

Ping is a utility program that allows you to check connectivity between network devices on the
network. You can ping a device by using its IP address or device name, such as a computer
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name.

61) What is peer to peer?

Peer to peer are networks that does not reply on a server. All PCs on this network act as
individual workstations.

62) What is DNS?

DNS is Domain Name System. The main function of this network service is to provide host
names to TCP/IP address resolution.

63) What advantages does fiber optics have over other media?

One major advantage of fiber optics is that is it less susceptible to electrical interference. It also
supports higher bandwidth, meaning more data can be transmitted and received. Signal
degrading is also very minimal over long distances.

64) What is the difference between a hub and a switch?

A hub acts as a multiport repeater. However, as more and more devices connect to it, it would
not be able to efficiently manage the volume of traffic that passes through it. A switch provides a
better alternative that can improve the performance especially when high traffic volume is
expected across all ports.

65) What are the different network protocols that are supported by Windows RRAS
services?

There are three main network protocols supported: NetBEUI, TCP/IP, and IPX.

66) What are the maximum networks and hosts in a class A, B and C network?

For Class A, there are 126 possible networks and 16,777,214 hosts
For Class B, there are 16,384 possible networks and 65,534 hosts
For Class C, there are 2,097,152 possible networks and 254 hosts

67) What is the standard color sequence of a straight-through cable?

orange/white, orange, green/white, blue, blue/white, green, brown/white, brown.

68) What protocols fall under the Application layer of the TCP/IP stack?

The following are the protocols under TCP/IP Application layer: FTP, TFTP, Telnet and SMTP.

69) You need to connect two computers for file sharing. Is it possible to do this without
using a hub or router?
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Yes, you can connect two computers together using only one cable. A crossover type cable can
be use in this scenario. In this setup, the data transmit pin of one cable is connected to the data
receive pin of the other cable, and vice versa.

70) What is ipconfig?

Ipconfig is a utility program that is commonly used to identify the addresses information of a
computer on a network. It can show the physical address as well as the IP address.

71) What is the difference between a straight-through and crossover cable?

A straight-through cable is used to connect computers to a switch, hub or router. A crossover

cable is used to connect two similar devices together, such as a PC to PC or Hub to hub.

72) What is client/server?

Client/server is a type of network wherein one or more computers act as servers. Servers
provide a centralized repository of resources such as printers and files. Clients refers to
workstation that access the server.

73) Describe networking.

Networking refers to the inter connection between computers and peripherals for data
communication. Networking can be done using wired cabling or through wireless link.

74) When you move the NIC cards from one PC to another PC, does the MAC address
gets transferred as well?

Yes, that's because MAC addresses are hard-wired into the NIC circuitry, not the PC. This also
means that a PC can have a different MAC address when the NIC card was replace by another
one.

75) Explain clustering support

Clustering support refers to the ability of a network operating system to connect multiple servers
in a fault-tolerant group. The main purpose of this is the in the event that one server fails, all
processing will continue on with the next server in the cluster.

76) In a network that contains two servers and twenty workstations, where is the best
place to install an Anti-virus program?

An anti-virus program must be installed on all servers and workstations to ensure protection.
That's because individual users can access any workstation and introduce a computer virus
when plugging in their removable hard drives or flash drives.

77) Describe Ethernet.

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Ethernet is one of the popular networking technologies used these days. It was developed
during the early 1970s and is based on specifications as stated in the IEEE. Ethernet is used in
local area networks.

78) What are some drawbacks of implementing a ring topology?

In case one workstation on the network suffers a malfunction, it can bring down the entire
network. Another drawback is that when there are adjustments and reconfigurations needed to
be performed on a particular part of the network, the entire network has to be temporarily
brought down as well.

79) What is the difference between CSMA/CD and CSMA/CA?

CSMA/CD, or Collision Detect, retransmits data frames whenever a collision occurred.

CSMA/CA, or Collision Avoidance, will first broadcast intent to send prior to data transmission.

80) What is SMTP?

SMTP is short for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. This protocol deals with all Internal mail, and
provides the necessary mail delivery services on the TCP/IP protocol stack.

81) What is multicast routing?

Multicast routing is a targeted form of broadcasting that sends message to a selected group of
user, instead of sending it to all users on a subnet.

82) What is the importance of Encryption on a network?

Encryption is the process of translating information into a code that is unreadable by the user. It
is then translated back or decrypted back to its normal readable format using a secret key or
password. Encryption help ensure that information that is intercepted halfway would remain
unreadable because the user has to have the correct password or key for it.

83) How are IP addresses arranged and displayed?

IP addresses are displayed as a series of four decimal numbers that are separated by period or
dots. Another term for this arrangement is the dotted decimal format. An example is
192.168.101.2

84) Explain the importance of authentication.

Authentication is the process of verifying a user's credentials before he can log into the network.
It is normally performed using a username and password. This provides a secure means of
limiting the access from unwanted intruders on the network.

85) What do mean by tunnel mode?

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This is a mode of data exchange wherein two communicating computers do not use IPSec
themselves. Instead, the gateway that is connecting their LANs to the transit network creates a
virtual tunnel that uses the IPSec protocol to secure all communication that passes through it.

86) What are the different technologies involved in establishing WAN links?

Analog connections - using conventional telephone lines; Digital connections - using digital-
grade telephone lines; switched connections - using multiple sets of links between sender and
receiver to move data.

87) What is one advantage of mesh topology?

In the event that one link fails, there will always be another available. Mesh topology is actually
one of the most fault-tolerant network topology.

88) When troubleshooting computer network problems, what common hardware-related

problems can occur?

A large percentage of a network is made up of hardware. Problems in these areas can range
from malfunctioning hard drives, broken NICs and even hardware startups. Incorrectly hardware
configuration is also one of those culprits to look into.

89) What can be done to fix signal attenuation problems?

A common way of dealing with such a problem is to use repeaters and hub, because it will help
regenerate the signal and therefore prevent signal loss. Checking if cables are properly
terminated is also a must.

90) How does dynamic host configuration protocol aid in network administration?

Instead of having to visit each client computer to configure a static IP address, the network
administrator can apply dynamic host configuration protocol to create a pool of IP addresses
known as scopes that can be dynamically assigned to clients.

91) Explain profile in terms of networking concept?

Profiles are the configuration settings made for each user. A profile may be created that puts a
user in a group, for example.

92) What is sneakernet?

Sneakernet is believed to be the earliest form of networking wherein data is physically

transported using removable media, such as disk, tapes.

93) What is the role of IEEE in computer networking?

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IEEE, or the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, is an organization composed of

engineers that issues and manages standards for electrical and electronic devices. This
includes networking devices, network interfaces, cablings and connectors.

94) What protocols fall under the TCP/IP Internet Layer?

There are 4 protocols that are being managed by this layer. These are ICMP, IGMP, IP and
ARP.

95) When it comes to networking, what are rights?

Rights refer to the authorized permission to perform specific actions on the network. Each user
on the network can be assigned individual rights, depending on what must be allowed for that
user.

96) What is one basic requirement for establishing VLANs?

A VLAN is required because at switch level there is only one broadcast domain, it means
whenever new user is connected to switch this information is spread throughout the
network. VLAN on switch helps to create separate broadcast domain at switch level. It is used
for security purpose.

97) What is IPv6?

IPv6 , or Internet Protocol version 6, was developed to replace IPv4. At present, IPv4 is being
used to control internet traffic, butis expected to get saturated in the near future. IPv6 was
designed to overcome this limitation.

98) What is RSA algorithm?

RSA is short for Rivest-Shamir-Adleman algorithm. It is the most commonly used public key
encryption algorithm in use today.

99) What is mesh topology?

Mesh topology is a setup wherein each device is connected directly to every other device on the
network. Consequently, it requires that each device have at least two network connections.

100) what is the maximum segment length of a 100Base-FX network?

The maximum allowable length for a network segment using 100Base-FX is 412 meters. The
maximum length for the entire network is 5 kilometers.

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Networking Oral Questions and Answers (TH)

1. Define Network?

A network is a set of devices connected by physical media links. A network is recursively is a connection of
two or more nodes by a physical link or two or more networks connected by one or more nodes.

2. What is a Link?

At the lowest level, a network can consist of two or more computers directly connected by some
physical medium such as coaxial cable or optical fiber. Such a physical medium is called as Link.

3. What is a node?

A network can consist of two or more computers directly connected by some physical medium such as coaxial
cable or optical fiber. Such a physical medium is called as Links and the computer it connects is called as
Nodes.

4. What is a gateway or Router?

A node that is connected to two or more networks is commonly called as router or Gateway. It generally
forwards message from one network to another.

5. What is point-point link?

If the physical links are limited to a pair of nodes it is said to be point-point link.

6. What is Multiple Access?

If the physical links are shared by more than two nodes, it is said to be Multiple Access.

7. What are the advantages of Distributed Processing?

a. Security/Encapsulation
b. Distributed database
c. Faster Problem solving
d. Security through redundancy
e. Collaborative Processing

8. What are the criteria necessary for an effective and efficient network?

a. Performance
It can be measured in many ways, including transmit time and response time. b. Reliability
It is measured by frequency of failure, the time it takes a link to recover from a failure, and the
network's robustness.
c. Security
Security issues includes protecting data from unauthorized access and virues.

9. Name the factors that affect the performance of the network?

a. Number of Users
b. Type of transmission medium
c. Hardware
d. Software

10. Name the factors that affect the reliability of the network?

a. Frequency of failure
b. Recovery time of a network after a failure

11. Name the factors that affect the security of the network?

a. Unauthorized Access
b. Viruses

12. What is Protocol?

A protocol is a set of rules that govern all aspects of information communication.

13. What are the key elements of protocols?

The key elements of protocols are

a. Syntax
It refers to the structure or format of the data, that is the order in which they are
presented. b. Semantics
It refers to the meaning of each section of bits.
c. Timing
Timing refers to two characteristics: When data should be sent and how fast they can be sent.

14. What are the key design issues of a computer Network?

a. Connectivity
b. Cost-effective Resource Sharing
c. Support for common Services
d. Performance

15. Define Bandwidth and Latency?

Network performance is measured in Bandwidth (throughput) and Latency (Delay). Bandwidth of a network
is given by the number of bits that can be transmitted over the network in a certain period of time. Latency
corresponds to how long it t5akes a message to travel from one end off a network to the other. It is strictly
measured in terms of time.

16. Define Routing?

The process of determining systematically hoe to forward messages toward the destination nodes based on
its address is called routing.

17. What is a peer-peer process?

The processes on each machine that communicate at a given layer are called peer-peer process.

18. When a switch is said to be congested?

It is possible that a switch receives packets faster than the shared link can accommodate and stores in its
memory, for an extended period of time, then the switch will eventually run out of buffer space, and some
packets will have to be dropped and in this state is said to congested state.

19. What is semantic gap?

Defining a useful channel involves both understanding the applications requirements and recognizing the
limitations of the underlying technology. The gap between what applications expects and what the underlying
technology can provide is called semantic gap.

20. What is Round Trip Time?

The duration of time it takes to send a message from one end of a network to the other and back, is called RTT.

21. Define the terms Unicasting, Multiccasting and Broadcasting?

If the message is sent from a source to a single destination node, it is called Unicasting.
If the message is sent to some subset of other nodes, it is called Multicasting.
If the message is sent to all the m nodes in the network it is called Broadcasting.

22. What is Multiplexing?

Multiplexing is the set of techniques that allows the simultaneous transmission of multiple signals across
a single data link.

23. Name the categories of Multiplexing?

a. Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM)

b. Time Division Multiplexing (TDM)
i. Synchronous TDM
ii. ASynchronous TDM Or Statistical TDM.
c. Wave Division Multiplexing (WDM)

24. What is FDM?

FDM is an analog technique that can be applied when the bandwidth of a link is greater than the
combined bandwidths of the signals to be transmitted.

25. What is WDM?

WDM is conceptually the same as FDM, except that the multiplexing and demultiplexing involve light signals
transmitted through fiber optics channel.

26. What is TDM?

TDM is a digital process that can be applied when the data rate capacity of the transmission medium is
greater than the data rate required by the sending and receiving devices.

27. What is Synchronous TDM?

In STDM, the multiplexer allocates exactly the same time slot to each device at all times, whether or not
a device has anything to transmit.

28. List the layers of OSI

a. Physical Layer
b. Data Link Layer
c. Network Layer
d. Transport Layer
e. Session Layer
f. Presentation Layer
g. Application Layer

29. Which layers are network support layers?

a. Physical Layer
b. Data link Layer and
c. Network Layers

30. Which layers are user support layers?

a. Session Layer
b. Presentation Layer and
c. Application Layer

31. Which layer links the network support layers and user support layers? The

Transport layer links the network support layers and user support layers.

32. What are the concerns of the Physical Layer?

Physical layer coordinates the functions required to transmit a bit stream over a physical
medium. a. Physical characteristics of interfaces and media b. Representation of bits

c. Data rate
d. Synchronization of bits
e. Line configuration
f. Physical topology
g. Transmission mode

33. What are the responsibilities of Data Link Layer?

The Data Link Layer transforms the physical layer, a raw transmission facility, to a reliable link and is
responsible for node-node delivery.
a. Framing
b. Physical Addressing
c. Flow Control
d. Error Control
e. Access Control

34. What are the responsibilities of Network Layer?

The Network Layer is responsible for the source-to-destination delivery of packet possibly across multiple
networks (links).
a. Logical Addressing
b. Routing

35. What are the responsibilities of Transport Layer?

The Transport Layer is responsible for source-to-destination delivery of the entire message.
a. Service-point Addressing
b. Segmentation and reassembly
c. Connection Control
d. Flow Control
e. Error Control

36. What are the responsibilities of Session Layer?

The Session layer is the network dialog Controller. It establishes, maintains and synchronizes the interaction
between the communicating systems.
a. Dialog control
b. Synchronization

37. What are the responsibilities of Presentation Layer?

The Presentation layer is concerned with the syntax and semantics of the information exchanged between
two systems.
a. Translation
b. Encryption
c. Compression

38. What are the responsibilities of Application Layer?

The Application Layer enables the user, whether human or software, to access the network. It provides user
interfaces and support for services such as e-mail, shared database management and other types of
distributed information services.
a. Network virtual Terminal
b. File transfer, access and Management (FTAM)
c. Mail services
d. Directory Services

39. What are the two classes of hardware building blocks?

Nodes and Links.

40. What are the different link types used to build a computer network?

a. Cables
b. Leased Lines
c. Last-Mile Links
d. Wireless Links

41. What are the categories of Transmission media?

a. Guided Media
i. Twisted - Pair cable
1. Shielded TP
2. Unshielded TP
ii. Coaxial Cable
iii. Fiber-optic cable
b. Unguided Media
i. Terrestrial microwave
ii. Satellite Communication
42. What are the types of errors?

a. Single-Bit error
In a single-bit error, only one bit in the data unit has changed
b. Burst Error
A Burst error means that two or more bits in the data have changed.

43. What is Error Detection? What are its methods?

Data can be corrupted during transmission. For reliable communication errors must be deducted and
Corrected. Error Detection uses the concept of redundancy, which means adding extra bits for detecting errors
at the destination. The common Error Detection methods are
a. Vertical Redundancy Check (VRC)
b. Longitudinal Redundancy Check (VRC)
c. Cyclic Redundancy Check (VRC)
d. Checksum

44. What is Redundancy?

The concept of including extra information in the transmission solely for the purpose of comparison. This
technique is called redundancy.

45. What is VRC?

It is the most common and least expensive mechanism for Error Detection. In VRC, a parity bit is added to
every data unit so that the total number of 1s becomes even for even parity. It can detect all single-bit errors. It
can detect burst errors only if the total number of errors in each data unit is odd.

46. What is LRC?

In LRC, a block of bits is divided into rows and a redundant row of bits is added to the whole block. It can
detect burst errors. If two bits in one data unit are damaged and bits in exactly the same positions in another
data unit are also damaged, the LRC checker will not detect an error. In LRC a redundant data unit follows n
data units.

47. What is CRC?

CRC, is the most powerful of the redundancy checking techniques, is based on binary division.

48. What is Checksum?

Checksum is used by the higher layer protocols (TCP/IP) for error detection

49. List the steps involved in creating the checksum.

a. Divide the data into sections

b. Add the sections together using 1's complement arithmetic
c. Take the complement of the final sum, this is the checksum.

50. What are the Data link protocols?

Data link protocols are sets of specifications used to implement the data link layer. The categories of Data Link
protocols are 1. Asynchronous Protocols
2. Synchronous Protocols
 a. Character Oriented Protocols
b. Bit Oriented protocols

51. Compare Error Detection and Error Correction:

The correction of errors is more difficult than the detection. In error detection, checks only any error has
occurred. In error correction, the exact number of bits that are corrupted and location in the message are
known. The number of the errors and the size of the message are important factors.

52. What is Forward Error Correction?

Forward error correction is the process in which the receiver tries to guess the message by using redundant bits.

53. Define Retransmission?

Retransmission is a technique in which the receiver detects the occurrence of an error and asks the sender to
resend the message. Resending is repeated until a message arrives that the receiver believes is error-freed.

54. What are Data Words?

In block coding, we divide our message into blocks, each of k bits, called datawords. The block coding process
is one-to-one. The same dataword is always encoded as the same codeword.

55. What are Code Words?

"r" redundant bits are added to each block to make the length n = k + r. The resulting n-bit blocks are called
n k
codewords. 2 - 2 codewords that are not used. These codewords are invalid or illegal.
56. What is a Linear Block Code?

A linear block code is a code in which the exclusive OR (addition modulo-2) of two valid codewords creates
another valid codeword.

57. What are Cyclic Codes?

Cyclic codes are special linear block codes with one extra property. In a cyclic code, if a codeword is cyclically
shifted (rotated), the result is another codeword.

58. Define Encoder?

A device or program that uses predefined algorithms to encode, or compress audio or video data for storage or
transmission use. A circuit that is used to convert between digital video and analog video.

59. Define Decoder?

A device or program that translates encoded data into its original format (e.g. it decodes the data). The term is
often used in reference to MPEG-2 video and sound data, which must be decoded before it is output.

60. What is Framing?

Framing in the data link layer separates a message from one source to a destination, or from other messages to
other destinations, by adding a sender address and a destination address. The destination address defines where
the packet has to go and the sender address helps the recipient acknowledge the receipt.
61. What is Fixed Size Framing?

In fixed-size framing, there is no need for defining the boundaries of the frames. The size itself can be used as a
delimiter.

62. Define Character Stuffing?

In byte stuffing (or character stuffing), a special byte is added to the data section of the frame when there is a
character with the same pattern as the flag. The data section is stuffed with an extra byte. This byte is usually
called the escape character (ESC), which has a predefined bit pattern. Whenever the receiver encounters the ESC
character, it removes it from the data section and treats the next character as data, not a delimiting flag.

63. What is Bit Stuffing?

Bit stuffing is the process of adding one extra 0 whenever five consecutive Is follow a 0 in the data, so that the
receiver does not mistake the pattern 0111110 for a flag.

64. What is Flow Control?

Flow control refers to a set of procedures used to restrict the amount of data that the sender can send
before waiting for acknowledgment.

65. What is Error Control ?

Error control is both error detection and error correction. It allows the receiver to inform the sender of any
frames lost or damaged in transmission and coordinates the retransmission of those frames by the sender. In the
data link layer, the term error control refers primarily to methods of error detection and retransmission.

66. What Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ)?

Error control is both error detection and error correction. It allows the receiver to inform the sender of any
frames lost or damaged in transmission and coordinates the retransmission of those frames by the sender. In the
data link layer, the term error control refers primarily to methods of error detection and retransmission. Error
control in the data link layer is often implemented simply: Any time an error is detected in an exchange,
specified frames are retransmitted. This process is called automatic repeat request (ARQ).

67. What is Stop-and-Wait Protocol?

In Stop and wait protocol, sender sends one frame, waits until it receives confirmation from the receiver
(okay to go ahead), and then sends the next frame.

68. What is Stop-and-Wait Automatic Repeat Request?

Error correction in Stop-and-Wait ARQ is done by keeping a copy of the sent frame and retransmitting of the
frame when the timer expires.

69. What is usage of Sequence Number in Relaible Transmission?

The protocol specifies that frames need to be numbered. This is done by using sequence numbers. A field is
added to the data frame to hold the sequence number of that frame. Since we want to minimize the frame
size, the smallest range that provides unambiguous communication. The sequence numbers can wrap around.

70. What is Pipelining ?

In networking and in other areas, a task is often begun before the previous task has ended. This is known as
pipelining.

71. What is Sliding Window?

The sliding window is an abstract concept that defines the range of sequence numbers that is the concern of the
sender and receiver. In other words, he sender and receiver need to deal with only part of the possible sequence
numbers.

72. What is Piggy Backing?

A technique called piggybacking is used to improve the efficiency of the bidirectional protocols. When a frame
is carrying data from A to B, it can also carry control information about arrived (or lost) frames from B; when a
frame is carrying data from B to A, it can also carry control information about the arrived (or lost) frames from
A.

73. What are the two types of transmission technology available?

(i) Broadcast and (ii) point-to-point

74. What is subnet?

A generic term for section of a large networks usually separated by a bridge or router.

75. Difference between the communication and transmission.

Transmission is a physical movement of information and concern issues like bit polarity, synchronisation, clock
etc.

Communication means the meaning full exchange of information between two communication media.

76. What are the possible ways of data exchange?

(i) Simplex (ii) Half-duplex (iii) Full-duplex.

77. What is SAP?

Series of interface points that allow other computers to communicate with the other layers of network
protocol stack.

78. What do you meant by "triple X" in Networks?

The function of PAD (Packet Assembler Disassembler) is described in a document known as X.3. The standard
protocol has been defined between the terminal and the PAD, called X.28; another standard protocol exists
between hte PAD and the network, called X.29. Together, these three recommendations are often called "triple
X".

79. What is frame relay, in which layer it comes?

Frame relay is a packet switching technology. It will operate in the data link layer.

80. What is terminal emulation, in which layer it comes?

Telnet is also called as terminal emulation. It belongs to application layer.

81. What is Beaconing?

The process that allows a network to self-repair networks problems. The stations on the network notify the
other stations on the ring when they are not receiving the transmissions. Beaconing is used in Token ring and
FDDI networks.

82. What is redirector?

Redirector is software that intercepts file or prints I/O requests and translates them into network requests.
This comes under presentation layer.

83. What is NETBIOS and NETBEUI?

NETBIOS is a programming interface that allows I/O requests to be sent to and received from a
remote computer and it hides the networking hardware from applications.

NETBEUI is NetBIOS extended user interface. A transport protocol designed by microsoft and IBM for the use
on small subnets.

84. What is RAID?

A method for providing fault tolerance by using multiple hard disk drives.

85. What is passive topology?

When the computers on the network simply listen and receive the signal, they are referred to as passive
because they don't amplify the signal in any way. Example for passive topology -linear bus.

86. What is Brouter?

Hybrid devices that combine the features of both bridges and routers.

87. What is cladding?

A layer of a glass surrounding the center fiber of glass inside a fiber-optic cable.

88. What is point-to-point protocol?

A communications protocol used to connect computers to remote networking services including Internet
service providers.

89. How Gateway is different from Routers?

A gateway operates at the upper levels of the OSI model and translates information between two completely
different network architectures or data formats.

90. What is attenuation?

The degeneration of a signal over distance on a network cable is called attenuation.

91. What is MAC address?

The address for a device as it is identified at the Media Access Control (MAC) layer in the network
architecture. MAC address is usually stored in ROM on the network adapter card and is unique.
92. Difference between bit rate and baud rate.

Bit rate is the number of bits transmitted during one second whereas baud rate refers to the number of
signal units per second that are required to represent those bits.
baud rate = (bit rate / N)
where N is no-of-bits represented by each signal shift.

93. What is Bandwidth?

Every line has an upper limit and a lower limit on the frequency of signals it can carry. This limited range is
called the bandwidth.

94. What are the types of Transmission media?

Signals are usually transmitted over some transmission media that are broadly classified in to two categories.

a.) Guided Media: These are those that provide a conduit from one device to another that include twisted-pair,
coaxial cable and fiber-optic cable. A signal traveling along any of these media is directed and is contained by
the physical limits of the medium. Twisted-pair and coaxial cable use metallic that accept and transport signals
in the form of electrical current. Optical fiber is a glass or plastic cable that accepts and transports signals in
the form of light.

b.) Unguided Media: This is the wireless media that transport electromagnetic waves without using a physical
conductor. Signals are broadcast either through air. This is done through radio communication, satellite
communication and cellular telephony.

95. What is Project 802?

It is a project started by IEEE to set standards to enable intercommunication between equipment from a variety
of manufacturers. It is a way for specifying functions of the physical layer, the data link layer and to some
extent the network layer to allow for interconnectivity of major LAN protocols.

It consists of the following:

1. 802.1 is an internetworking standard for compatibility of different LANs and MANs across protocols.
2. 802.2 Logical link control (LLC) is the upper sublayer of the data link layer which is non-architecture-
specific, that is remains the same for all IEEE-defined LANs.
3. Media access control (MAC) is the lower sublayer of the data link layer that contains some distinct
modules each carrying proprietary information specific to the LAN product being used. The modules
are Ethernet LAN (802.3), Token ring LAN (802.4), Token bus LAN (802.5).
4. 802.6 is distributed queue dual bus (DQDB) designed to be used in MANs.

96. What is Protocol Data Unit?

The data unit in the LLC level is called the protocol data unit (PDU). The PDU contains of four fields a
destination service access point (DSAP), a source service access point (SSAP), a control field and an
information field. DSAP, SSAP are addresses used by the LLC to identify the protocol stacks on the receiving
and sending machines that are generating and using the data. The control field specifies whether the PDU frame
is a information frame (I - frame) or a supervisory frame (S - frame) or a unnumbered frame (U - frame).

97. What are the different type of networking / internetworking devices?

 1. Repeater: Also called a regenerator, it is an electronic device that operates only at physical layer. It
receives the signal in the network before it becomes weak, regenerates the original bit pattern and
puts the refreshed copy back in to the link.
2. Bridges: These operate both in the physical and data link layers of LANs of same type. They divide a
larger network in to smaller segments. They contain logic that allow them to keep the traffic for each
segment separate and thus are repeaters that relay a frame only the side of the segment containing the
intended recipent and control congestion.
3. Routers: They relay packets among multiple interconnected networks (i.e. LANs of different type).
They operate in the physical, data link and network layers. They contain software that enable them to
determine which of the several possible paths is the best for a particular transmission.
4. Gateways: They relay packets among networks that have different protocols (e.g. between a LAN and a
WAN). They accept a packet formatted for one protocol and convert it to a packet formatted for another
protocol before forwarding it. They operate in all seven layers of the OSI model.

98. What is ICMP?

ICMP is Internet Control Message Protocol, a network layer protocol of the TCP/IP suite used by hosts and
gateways to send notification of datagram problems back to the sender. It uses the echo test / reply to test
whether a destination is reachable and responding. It also handles both control and error messages.

99. What are the data units at different layers of the TCP / IP protocol suite?

The data unit created at the application layer is called a message, at the transport layer the data unit created is
called either a segment or an user datagram, at the network layer the data unit created is called the datagram,
at the data link layer the datagram is encapsulated in to a frame and finally transmitted as signals along the
transmission media.

100. What is difference between ARP and RARP?

The address resolution protocol (ARP) is used to associate the 32 bit IP address with the 48 bit physical
address, used by a host or a router to find the physical address of another host on its network by sending a ARP
query packet that includes the IP address of the receiver.

The reverse address resolution protocol (RARP) allows a host to discover its Internet address when it knows
only its physical address.

101. What is the minimum and maximum length of the header in the TCP segment and IP datagram?

The header should have a minimum length of 20 bytes and can have a maximum length of 60 bytes.

102. What is the range of addresses in the classes of internet addresses?

Class A - 0.0.0.0 - 127.255.255.255

Class B - 128.0.0.0 - 191.255.255.255
Class C - 192.0.0.0 - 223.255.255.255
Class D - 224.0.0.0 - 239.255.255.255
Class E - 240.0.0.0 - 247.255.255.255

103. What is the difference between TFTP and FTP application layer protocols?

The Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) allows a local host to obtain files from a remote host but does not
provide reliability or security. It uses the fundamental packet delivery services offered by UDP.
The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is the standard mechanism provided by TCP / IP for copying a file from one
host to another. It uses the services offer by TCP and so is reliable and secure. It establishes two connections
(virtual circuits) between the hosts, one for data transfer and another for control information.

104. What are major types of networks and explain?

1. Server-based network: provide centralized control of network resources and rely on server
computers to provide security and network administration
2. Peer-to-peer network: computers can act as both servers sharing resources and as clients using the
resources.

105. What are the important topologies for networks?

1. BUS topology: In this each computer is directly connected to primary network cable in a single line.
Advantages: Inexpensive, easy to install, simple to understand, easy to extend.
2. STAR topology: In this all computers are connected using a central hub.
Advantages: Can be inexpensive, easy to install and reconfigure and easy to trouble shoot
physical problems.
3. RING topology: In this all computers are connected in loop. Advantages: All computers have equal
access to network media, installation can be simple, and signal does not degrade as much as in other
topologies because each computer regenerates it.

106. What is mesh network?

A network in which there are multiple network links between computers to provide multiple paths for data to
travel.

107. What is difference between baseband and broadband transmission?

In a baseband transmission, the entire bandwidth of the cable is consumed by a single signal. In broadband
transmission, signals are sent on multiple frequencies, allowing multiple signals to be sent simultaneously.

108. Explain 5-4-3 rule?

In a Ethernet network, between any two points on the network ,there can be no more than five network
segments or four repeaters, and of those five segments only three of segments can be populated.

109. What MAU?

In token Ring , hub is called Multistation Access Unit(MAU).

110. What is the difference between routable and non- routable protocols?

Routable protocols can work with a router and can be used to build large networks. Non-Routable protocols are
designed to work on small, local networks and cannot be used with a router.

111. Why should you care about the OSI Reference Model?

It provides a framework for discussing network operations and design.

112. What is logical link control?

One of two sublayers of the data link layer of OSI reference model, as defined by the IEEE 802 standard. This
sublayer is responsible for maintaining the link between computers when they are sending data across the
physical network connection.

113. What is virtual channel?

Virtual channel is normally a connection from one source to one destination, although multicast connections
are also permitted. The other name for virtual channel is virtual circuit.

114. What is virtual path?

Along any transmission path from a given source to a given destination, a group of virtual circuits can
be grouped together into what is called path.

115. What is packet filter?

Packet filter is a standard router equipped with some extra functionality. The extra functionality allows every
incoming or outgoing packet to be inspected. Packets meeting some criterion are forwarded normally. Those
that fail the test are dropped.

116. What is traffic shaping?

One of the main causes of congestion is that traffic is often busy. If hosts could be made to transmit at a
uniform rate, congestion would be less common. Another open loop method to help manage congestion is
forcing the packet to be transmitted at a more predictable rate. This is called traffic shaping.

117. What is multicast routing?

Sending a message to a group is called multicasting, and its routing algorithm is called multicast routing.

118. What is region?

When hierarchical routing is used, the routers are divided into what we will call regions, with each router
knowing all the details about how to route packets to destinations within its own region, but knowing
nothing about the internal structure of other regions.

119. What is silly window syndrome?

It is a problem that can ruin TCP performance. This problem occurs when data are passed to the sending TCP
entity in large blocks, but an interactive application on the receiving side reads 1 byte at a time.

120. What are Digrams and Trigrams?

The most common two letter combinations are called as digrams. e.g. th, in, er, re and an. The most common
three letter combinations are called as trigrams. e.g. the, ing, and, and ion.

121. Expand IDEA.

IDEA stands for International Data Encryption Algorithm.

122. What is wide-mouth frog?

Wide-mouth frog is the simplest known key distribution center (KDC) authentication protocol.
123. What is Mail Gateway?

It is a system that performs a protocol translation between different electronic mail delivery protocols.

124. What is IGP (Interior Gateway Protocol)?

It is any routing protocol used within an autonomous system.

125. What is EGP (Exterior Gateway Protocol)?

It is the protocol the routers in neighboring autonomous systems use to identify the set of networks that can
be reached within or via each autonomous system.

126. What is autonomous system?

It is a collection of routers under the control of a single administrative authority and that uses a
common Interior Gateway Protocol.

127. What is BGP (Border Gateway Protocol)?

It is a protocol used to advertise the set of networks that can be reached with in an autonomous system. BGP
enables this information to be shared with the autonomous system. This is newer than EGP (Exterior Gateway
Protocol).

128. What is Gateway-to-Gateway protocol?

It is a protocol formerly used to exchange routing information between Internet core routers.

129. What is NVT (Network Virtual Terminal)?

It is a set of rules defining a very simple virtual terminal interaction. The NVT is used in the start of a Telnet
session.

130. What is a Multi-homed Host?

It is a host that has a multiple network interfaces and that requires multiple IP addresses is called as a Multi-
homed Host.

131. What is Kerberos?

It is an authentication service developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Kerberos uses

encryption to prevent intruders from discovering passwords and gaining unauthorized access to files.

132. What is OSPF?

It is an Internet routing protocol that scales well, can route traffic along multiple paths, and uses knowledge of
an Internet's topology to make accurate routing decisions.

133. What is Proxy ARP?

It is using a router to answer ARP requests. This will be done when the originating host believes that a
destination is local, when in fact is lies beyond router.
134. What is SLIP (Serial Line Interface Protocol)?

It is a very simple protocol used for transmission of IP datagrams across a serial line.

135. What is RIP (Routing Information Protocol)?

It is a simple protocol used to exchange information between the routers.

136. What is source route?

It is a sequence of IP addresses identifying the route a datagram must follow. A source route may optionally be
included in an IP datagram header.